Ernesto Valverde: 'Chelsea have an advantage'

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has said that Chelsea have an advantage of an extra day's preparation ahead of the Champions League clash between the sides on Tuesday.

Barca play Eibar in La Liga on Saturday following the Blues' 4-0 defeat of Hull City on Friday, and Valverde has acknowledged that Antonio Conte's side have more time to recover ahead of the European meeting next week.

"That [extra] day is enough of a difference in terms of recovering physically," the Barca boss told reporters. "I would have liked to play against Eibar on Friday, too, to have an extra day before the game against Chelsea.

"But [the Eibar] game is an important one as well. The only game we're thinking about right now is that one. We're not thinking about Tuesday's game."

Barcelona are seven points clear at the top of the Spanish top flight.